Goodnight kisses
by BlackMH
Summary: Cruddy title, i know, but a must read! ZatchxTia, this story will make you a believer or even more of a fanatic. just a sweet long oneshot. Full summary inside.


Restless heart, seeking the answer to love.

Hey y'all! This is my first one-shot about one of my favorite pairings, Zatch and Tia. I'll be writing this story before a multi-chapter of the couple. So for now, this'll be a test.

Summary: Crap, haven't thought of one. Um, during a world tour, Tia and Megumi stay over at Kiyo's house for one night. Tia has something in her head and wants to ask Zatch about it.

A/N: I thought of this idea after looking at future episode pictures of Zatch Bell. So if anyone recognizes the scene, please tell me through PM, if you're an author that is. I haven't been watching Zatch Bell a lot; I've been missing some episodes here and there. So forgive me if there are any mistakes.

The time was now 9:30 and the stars had already set themselves above the sky. Inside the house of Kiyo Takamine, two Mamodos were getting ready to sleep. Zatch was in the bathroom brushing his teeth like he does daily as Tia waits to change into her PJs.

"Hurry up Zatch," she says, "I haven't got all night."

"I'm finishing right now," he spoke through his teeth.

He spat the pasty contents out of his mouth and rinsed his teeth. Turning off the faucet, he exited the room and allowed Tia inside. He walked into his room where a bed was laid out on the floor. He recalled that Kiyo's parents were out for the night and he and Tia were sharing the same room. At first, Tia protested, but later accepted when she heard Kiyo and Megumi had to sleep in the living room. For some reason, his parents didn't want any of them in their room. He felt dozy just looking at the bed and waltzed over to it. He let himself in and closed his eyes awaiting sleep, but it seemed that was the opposite of what he was getting.

"G' night Zatch and Tia," Kiyo said with his head poking out the door.

"Good night," they both said.

He turned off the lights and closed the door as Zatch resumed to his thoughts of his dreams of Yellowtail. He felt Tia motioning behind him to fit into a comfortable position. When she finally stopped, Zatch presumed she was sound asleep and attempted to go into a fit of sleep of his own, but soon heard sniffling coming from Tia's side. He looked toward her to see she was still in the same pose, but obviously not sleeping.

"Tia?" he asked, "What's wrong?"

She stopped at the sound of his voice and looked to his side surprised.

"Zatch, you're still awake."

"Of course I am. It's kinda difficult to sleep with you sniffling,' he said with much emphasis at 'to'.

She looked back and thought of something to say as Zatch waited patiently. Her shoulders rose and fell signaling that she was taking a deep breath.

"It's…about Maruss."

Zatch's left eye twitched at the sound of his name, mostly because of what he did to Tia.

"Well…what about him?"

"First…you do know that we have to fight one day, right?"

"Yeah…that's true."

"Tell me Zatch, if you had the chance, would you burn my book?"

"Say what? Of course not!"

"Even if you and I were the only mamodos left?"

"Not even if we were forced to!" he said with much reassurance.

"Thanks Zatch, that helps but…"

"But what?"

"It's just that…when Maruss and I met again back at the concert, he was willing to burn my book at all costs. That wasn't the mamodo I knew back at our world."

Zatch began to think about where Tia was getting too. He then recalled what happened to Kolulu when they discovered who she was. She was really not herself, even if he doesn't remember her. There was no way that Kolulu would've acted like that back in their world.

"Zatch, do you have any idea who he was?" Tia asked turning to him.

"No, but…I think I know why he did that."

Tia lifted herself with her arm in response to his words.

"Really?"

"Yeah, a girl named Kolulu who I met sometime before you."

"A girl?" Tia's eye twitched slightly at this, but pretended that did not happen.

"Yeah, she told me of this second person you are given when the battle begins."

"Really?" she said again, this time with much more inquiry, "Tell me."

"Well, in the mamodo world, she's a sweet kind-hearted girl who would never fight."

Sweet and kind-hearted, that didn't describe Tia very well. For some reason, this fact seemed to trouble her more than her previous issue, but she pushed it aside and continued to listen to Zatch.

"But in this battle, she was a different person, one that wanted to fight and give no mercy."

Wants to fight and give no mercy; that described Tia better. When they first met, she threw him across a hall in a fit of rage just for not remembering her. But why she was angry was unknown, even to her. Was it because she didn't want to be erased from his memory? What was special about him that made her like that?

"She told us she was given a different personality so she could be forced to fight. She told us to burn her book so she could return to normal and to happiness. When I told myself not to…"

"You burned her book?" Tia finished.

"Well, Kiyo did without warning. The same thing must've happened to Maruss. Maybe he didn't want to fight you in the first place."

"…but, if that were true, wouldn't he have told me that he didn't want to fight me? Wouldn't he have said something about that? I think he knew what he was doing…"

"So, that means…"

"He wanted to hurt me. I trusted him. He played with my heart and I let him get away with it!" she practically yelled as tears began to form.

Zatch felt hurt when she said 'played with my heart'. He didn't know why, must be because he was feeling her pain. But he was never in any type of experience that she was in, so, what was this feeling?

"But," he spoke, "Isn't there someone you can trust in this battle?"

"Zatch, I did not _just _trust him, I…loved him."

Zatch's mind completely stopped at that moment.

"I thought he was the only one who would be there for me; I thought he cared for me. But I was wrong. He never loved me. So if I can't love him, then am I actually meant to love?" she said looking to Zatch who seemed…pretty blank if you ask me.

"Zatch?" she asked.

She waved her hand in front of his face a few times until he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"You are meant to love, but with someone who should like you back," he said lying down and covering himself with the blankets, "like me," he whispered.

Tia didn't hear him, but asked him to get back up. She claimed she had one more thing to ask him.

"Well?"

"Zatch…do you know that you, along with Kanchome and Ponygon, are the only ones I can trust now?"

"Yeah."

"And…do you know that you are the one I trust the most?"

"Well, no not really."

"Well, you are. And do you know who I like now?"

"Like?" he repeated, "as in, 'like like'?"

"…yeah."

"Who?"

Tia looked down and smiled. She tied her hand with his as he saw who she meant. His faced was red as his blush rose to his features. She giggled slightly as he looked away from her face. He continued to look away as Tia closed in to kiss him on the cheek. Zatch turned to her to say something, but he was caught off guard by Tia.

They both opened their eyes in surprise (A/N: no rhyme intended) and stared into the others as they were speechless, mostly because they were blocking each others path of speaking. Their lips had connected with one another's by accident, but Tia closed her eyes thinking 'meh, close enough'.

They had kissed.

Tia kept her eyes closed as Zatch didn't move one bit. He was too shocked by the kiss to do or say anything, so without a second thought he closed his eyes and enjoyed the kiss. The kiss lasted a soft 10 seconds before Tia departed and giggled.

"Good night Zatch," she said turning around and falling asleep.

It took Zatch some 3 seconds to regain consciousness and to respond.

"Good night…Tia," he said with much confusion.

It had been 3 hours since the kiss and Zatch was still not asleep. The desire to think about Yellowtail was gone, just like the days of not having friends; they were gone 'SNAP' like that. He stared at the moonlight through the window of the bedroom in a trance of the deepest thoughts he's ever had. Why does Tia like him like that? How would she ever like a guy like him? These thoughts refused to leave his mind leaving him to think of answers before a night of pleasant rest.

'Tia likes me, but why? What have I done to make her like me?' he thought.

He thought back to the moment where he and Maruss were fighting. It was the day they first met, so what could he have done to make her like him?

'When we did first meet, I had forgotten about her, and boy was she really mad. But why was she mad? All I did was forget her. Maybe because I forgot her. When she threw me across the hall, it was like she was trying to knock the memory back into me. Am I really that precious to her that if I ever did forget her she would've killed the next living thing she touched? That is how I would put it.'

He thought back to the battle at the amusement park where he fought that slime and slow power mamodo. Sure, he was really thankful that she came in time, but was she really doing it for the battle?

A/N: unfortunately, I missed that episode. If anyone would mind PM me any Zatch x Tia hints that occurred in the episode, I'd be really thankful. Not to mention compelled to make another one of these.

'She really came through for me. If she were a minute late, my book would've been burned. I wonder what kept her so long. She still came though, and that was swell. But, she could've been later. What compelled her to make on time? Was it me? Did she want to see me again? Ugh, thinking like this isn't gonna help me sleep better. I'd best ask her in the morning.'

With that, he finally came to a sleeping condition. But his dreams seem to desire the lust to torture him with these questions. That dream he had will be one he'll never forget.

Zatch was walking through a thin fog that seemed to cover everything as far as the eye can see. The sky seemed to fit the tone a graveyard would have, and the same temperature as well. Despite the haunting voices that seemed to echo the wall-less world, he continued to walk.

'Tell me Zatch, if you had the chance, would you burn my book?' said a holographic figure of Tia that Zatch passed by.

The figure of the girl disappeared as a second voice responded.

'Say what? Of course not! Not even if we were forced to!'

It sounded familiar…

'He wanted to hurt me. I trusted him. He played with my heart and I let him get away with it!' said another holographic figure of Tia as it disappeared.

With each figure he passed, he walked a bit faster. Faster and faster he would walk, away from the moments when he was waking.

'Zatch, I did not _just _trust him, I…loved him.'

Zatch was walking at a pace that would be considered running.

'I thought he was the only one who would be there for me; I thought he cared for me. But I was wrong. He never loved me. So if I can't love him, then am I actually meant to love?'

"Just be quiet!" he yelled as he ran as fast as he could.

He continued to run until the images of Tia began to disappear. When it seemed that they had disappeared, he stopped and tried to catch his breath. He found it difficult to do so in such atmosphere.

'Zatch!' yelled a spirit like voice from afar.

He looked up to see a figure about a mile and about Tia's height, but it didn't look like Tia. The hair was more curved all around, but he couldn't tell because the figure was overshadowed.

"Who's there? Tia?" he said putting a flat hand above his brow trying to see.

'No Zatch, don't you remember me?'

"Who are you?"

The figure appeared from under the shadows to reveal a girl with pink hair…K-K-…

"Kolulu?"

'Yes, it's me Zatch.'

"Kolulu!"

He ran towards her in a fit of happiness, but Kolulu seemed to be sad. He stopped as soon as he was a good length from her.

"Kolulu, what's wrong?" he asked.

'Zatch, you're troubled with thoughts about Tia. I wish to help you.'

"Tia? What does she have to do with this?"

'Listen Zatch, I know what your problem is.'

"Y-you do?"

'Yes. You're worried that you might love me instead of her and that she loves Maruss instead of you.'

"But, how could she still love him? We kissed and…"

'You're worried that the kiss wasn't right. You're worried that things will just get worse what with the battle for the Mamodo king. You're worried that she will end up hating you, am I correct?'

Zatch was speechless and couldn't think of anything to say. Her assumptions were correct; he was worried about all of it. He didn't want to hurt Tia, but he didn't want to let Kolulu down.

'Zatch, you don't want to hurt people's feelings, especially Tia's.'

"But Kolulu, this battle will end us having to fight each other. I don't want to hurt Tia, but I don't want to let you down."

'Zatch, Tia doesn't care about that. Didn't you know? She'll also try to become a kind queen. When the time comes for you to fight, she expects you to give it your all. That's the you she fell in love with in the first place.'

"But, what about you? I think-"

'Zatch, I like you as a friend. I never wanted to be more than that. You've got the wrong assumptions and therefore, brought this dream upon yourself. We're friends Zatch, and friends are happy with the decisions they make. Whether it's leaving a town to explore the world or accepting a relationship with someone else, your friends will agree with you and be happy for you.'

"I…I think I understand now."

'Good, now turn around.'

He turned around to see Tia standing there. He was surprised and turned to Kolulu for an explanation.

'If you have really learned from all of this, you will kiss Tia without hesitation and enjoy it.'

Zatch looked back to see Tia's eyes closed and her mouth partly open. He thought of what it was like to give a kiss then to receive one. So, he closed his eyes and closed in with his mouth partly opened as well. When the two finally connected, Kolulu disappeared before saying these words.

'I'll always be happy for you Zatch…'

Zatch opened his eyes to see a room filled with sunshine and the sound of birds singing and the feel of Tia's lips on his. Wait, run that by him again. Tia's lips? Tia opened her eyes and saw Zatch giving her a morning kiss, but what she didn't know was that he was in a dream and the kiss in his dream actually occurred in real life. In other words, it was an accident. He immediately got up and backed away fast until he hit a drawer with a baseball on it. The baseball fell and struck his head giving him one heck of a wake up call. He clutched his forehead as a result and Tia came to ease it.

"Um, good morning, I guess?"

"Ow…"

"Zatch?"

"Yeah?"

"What were you doing back there?"

"Uh, well, it's a long story."

"Make it short."

"I had a dream, you were in it and so was Kolulu. She told me of my problem and helped me with it and I finally got with the love program. Is that short enough?"

"Perfect. So, why were you kissing me?"

"Uh, well, you were in the dream and I wanted to so I, uh…"

"Kissed me in the dream but ended up kissing me here?"

"…yeah…"

"So, have you got the hang of kissing?"

"Pretty much…"

"Well, show me."

"Say what?"

"You heard me, show me. Show me that you have the hang of kissing."

"Um, alright…"

In the living room, Kiyo was just getting up from his slumber. He gave off a big yawn as Megumi stretched the sleep out of her. Sleeping on the couch wasn't as bad as she thought; Kiyo slept on the floor (you pervs).

"Well, not one of the best nights I had, but okay," Kiyo said to himself.

"Hey should I go get Tia and Zatch?" Megumi asked.

"Nah. Let me do it."

He walked up to the stairs quietly, trying to get a surprise advantage of Zatch. He saw the room and carefully tiptoed over. He pressed his ear lightly on the door and heard silence; he assumed they were still asleep. He cautiously opened the door ready to yell good morning, but stopped when he saw Tia and Zatch in a more-than-friends embrace. Megumi walked up the stairs as well hearing nothing from their rooms. She saw Kiyo peeking into their rooms and was about to speak when Kiyo looked back and signaled her to stay quiet and to look. She tiptoed as well and peeked through the crack to see Zatch and Tia in the same embrace Kiyo saw them in. he cautiously closed the door and both of them silently walked away. One thought ran through Megumi's mind.

'Finally, she has someone to depend on other than me.'

I hope all of you people enjoyed this long one-shot. Knowing that I'm proud of this work, I might make another story involving this couple. But if you really want it, you might have to accept a Kiyo x Megumi pairing. It's either that or no other story. Well, I hope you've all enjoyed this story and be proud. This is the closest of a one-shot you'll get out of me. R & R!


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